Finished Cables and Os

Pattern: Cables and Os, by Brooke Snow, No Sheep for You

Yarn: Queensland Collection Cotolino in Fuchsia

Yardage: About 1500

Needles: Knit Picks Options US size 2 and 4

Estimated Time: 6 months

Notes: I shortened the ribbing on the sleeves by an inch but besides that I did exactly what the pattern said

Finally! I loved this sweater pattern and I loved the yarn and I'm still not sick of it, but I didn't know if I was ever going to finish this sweater in time to wear it to Wicked next weekend, but I finished it a week early! I really enjoyed this sweater it was a very good pattern and the finished sweater it really cute.



I didn't change much of anything, all I did was shorten the ribbing on the sleeves by an inch. The only thing that I would say to anyone that is knitting this currently is when you count stitches make sure that if you are on a yarn over row that you don't count the yarn overs (it might be very obvious to some but hints never hurt).

Cancer Benefit, Yarn, A Piece of Home and LUSH-iousness

Last weekend Big A and I went up to L.A. for a very cool car event called Cruise 'n for a Cure, it's the biggest one day car show and every single cent (no money is taken for administration fees) from the entry fee ($40 a car, and there were over 3,500 cars this year), the gate fees ($12 a person), and the t-shirt sales go to the UCLA Jonsson Conprehensive Cancer Center. We had a great time there were about 50 cars from Big A's car group so it was nice to see everyone, but I wished the weather would have been dryer.

And since we were in L.A. I (successfully) tried to get Big A to take me to Wildfiber in Santa Monica. It's one of my favorite yarn shops to visit (it was my second time) here is what it looks like (click to make bigger) The next time I go I would love to stay a while and knit. Wildfiber use to be owned by Mel Clark (author of Knit2) but she has sold it and move back to New Zealand. The store was just as wonderful as I remembered, light, lovely, and I love the way that the store is laid out. I saw on their website that they were carrying Socks that Rock I wanted to see what they had and was planning on picking up a several skeins. The knitting gods did not shine upon me, they only had medium weight, and I was looking for lightweight. So in order to appease the sock yarn craving I got this.
It's Ranco Multy by Araucania, it was hand-dyed in Chile and it really reminds me of Monet's Waterlilies, you can't see the green to well in the pictures but it's very similar to the painting, I'm glad I picked it up.

When you miss Boston there are a few places around town that you can go to to get your fix and one of them is Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica. If you are an ex-pat the minute you walk in you know exactly what this place is about; it's dark, there are multiply levels to the place, there is a no-frills attitude (wires hanging all over the place), there is a good sturdy bar that runs the length from front to back, the bathroom is old and has a strange tiny useless extra room with a small mirror (at least the women's did), there are pictures and references to all Boston Sports teams, and they served DUNKIN' DONUTS coffee (swear). It was a little slice of home, and the food was great Big A had fish and chips (of course) and I had a big bowl of clam chowdah it was one of the best I ever tasted. And of course the most prized possession of the day this
it's a t-shirt that's the front and the back says could it be any better?

The other place I got Big A to take me was LUSH. I fell in love with LUSH when I lived in Boston. It is a company that makes handmade cosmetics (not make-up, but more lotion/soap/shampoo etc) with a lot of organic/and or natural ingredients. This is a blurb from their website "We hand-make our cosmetics in UK, Italy, Canada, South America and Japan, in our own production facilities, so that every product available in our shops or sent to you by mail is as fresh as it can possibly be because fresh products work better and use fewer preservatives. Our aim is to have the youngest, freshest products in the history of cosmetics." They never do any animals testing and they sell their products, both in store and web, with as little packaging as possible. I love all of their products and the company's philosophy and mission, good all around!

I HEART Ravelry!

I just got my Ravelry invitation yesterday, I was so excited, and for those who haven't gotten it yet don't worry it's totally worth the wait, and they are getting through the list. I know I wasn't one of the first ones, and I'm sure that there are many people who have said how wonderful the site it, but I would like to say that it is SO wonderful. It is also a sense of "hometown pride" because the two very caring and wonderful people, and one super-cute Boston Terrier (my alma mater's mascot) of Ravelry are based in Charlestown, MA! And since I'm an alumna of Boston University and lived in Beantown for 11 years and are hopefully moving back next year, I'm so proud! As soon as I saw the background in one of the pictures of the aforementioned super-cute dog I told my husband "that looks like a Boston apartment" and I was correct.

M first 24 hours with Ravelry has been awesome, I have added a few finished projects and transfered all my pictures from Photobucket to Flickr (which was a pain). One of things I really liked was adding all my books to virtual library, so now I know what I have an I can keep track of what I want (I can hear Borders thanking me now). But with all good things comes the (not really) bad, there is a place on Ravelry that is dedicated to keeping track of your Stash, that's right I said the "S" word. I have never ever taken out my entire stash and cataloged it, never. I know that my stash has grown over the years (I have been knitting for about 7 years now) both from an increase from starving college student income (I could only ever afford 1 skein) and because my interests in different kinds of knitting has expanded as my skills have gotten better. But today my friends not only did I take a picture of my ENTIRE stash in one place, but I took a picture of each and every ball of yarn in the stash so I can add each one to my little heavenly slice of Ravelry.

I know that for every knitter out there, there is a different kind of stash, and I believe that no one is right or wrong (and I know that this is a hotly debated topic). I do however strongly believe that you should "own it". I have always believed in honesty, if you are going to be a bitch, should should know it and own it. I may not always get along with every person but I respect them if they own it. So this is my "own it" moment. Here is the picture of my stash:

Now I don't know where everyone stands on the Stash topic, but there is mine . . . out in the open for everyone to see (and yes that is a corner of alpaca), and I'm owning it!

Happy Birthday Grape!

You know how sometimes a hand-knitted piece finds its rightful recipient? I don't know if it has ever happened to anyone else but I have knitted this pattern a few times now and every time I think I'm making it for me but then someone else puts it on and it looks so fabulous on them you know that its found the person it should belong to. The first one of these I was knitting I really loved the yarn but it wasn't the best color for me. Then while I was finishing it ItShe put it on and she was jokingly thanking me for the time and effort I put into it, but as soon as I saw it on her I knew it should be hers. And then it happened again, I was working on the second one at the Stitch 'n Pitch in San Diego and Grape saw it and was so in love with the color of it, she was asking what the pattern was and that she loved it. Well I knew that she should have it for her birthday, and if I do say so it looks super fabulous on her as well, there is a picture of her in it on her blog here. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAPE!

Here is a picture of it:

And here is the information:

Pattern: Monet's Water Garden Shawl/Scarf
Yarn: Trendsetter Tonalita
Yardarge: 400 (4 balls)
Needles: Size 10
Estimated Time: 3 months (but in actual time a week or so)
Pattern Changes: None
Notes: It was a quick and simple knit with a nice effect due to the drop stitches.

Cables and Os Progress!

Oh yeah baby! Here is what my Cables and Os looked like a month and 3 days ago:
and since it was 288 stitches for each row it was still a mighty fine accomplishment. And as the Yarn Harlot says it is amazing how much knitting you can get accomplished if you work on a single project. It's so intoxicating I might try to keep the WIP's down to only one or two things (we'll see). So here is a picture of the sweater now:

Yes that is the back, the left front, and the right front all together in one piece, one fabulously finished piece. I wished I would have paid more attention to the twisted stitches because there are a few that are over twisted and a few that are not twisted, and since some of the ones that are not twisted are on the finished button hole band it's a bit annoying. But I'm trying to embrace the fact that this a hand-made article of clothing are there will be imperfections (I was just hoping that they would have been on the back were I can't see them). But I really feel a great sense of accomplishment that I have the entire body of the sweater done. Now all that is left is two sleeves, one button band, and a neck band and I will be done. I would love to get the sweater done so I can wear it when we see Wicked October 6th, hopefully grad-school work won't get in the way to much. Keep your fingers crossed!